"Haha, kill every last one of these people from the Great Xia Empire."

"This time, we’ll definitely take the entire Great Xia Empire. I’ve been coveting their territory and resources for a long time."

"There’s someone floating over there. Let’s run them over with this mysterious ship."

The deck of the mysterious vessel was crowded with numerous Martial Artists from the White-Red Empire.

These Martial Artists from the White-Red Empire

were aiming at the panicked Great Xia Empire fishermen who had fallen into the sea,

wantonly brandishing the mysterious weapons in their hands.

One of the White-Red Empire Martial Artists picked up his crossbow, nocking a small shard of bone onto it.

He then pulled the trigger, and the small bone shard shot out in an instant.

An old, white-haired fisherman was bobbing in the ocean waves,

when the shard of bone struck him squarely and embedded itself in his body.

Immediately after, the white-haired fisherman’s skin, hair, eyes—every part of his body—

all turned into pale white bone. He stopped moving and sank stiffly into the depths of the sea.

"You impatient bastard, you’re such a spoilsport. We should have just kept herding that poor fool with the ship. That would’ve been more fun."

Another Martial Artist from the White-Red Empire leaned on the deck railing, speaking with dissatisfaction.

"Doesn’t matter.

We’ve got plenty of time today. We can take it slow."

The Martial Artist holding the crossbow said with a loud laugh.

...

"BREAKING NEWS: Today, maritime Martial Artists from the White-Red Empire suddenly invaded the territory of the Great Xia Empire.

This has resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians who were going about their work."

When this news broke on all of the Great Xia Empire’s major platforms, it caused a massive uproar.

No one had expected that the White-Red Empire, which usually only engaged in minor harassment along the Great Xia Empire’s borders, would actually get serious this time.

"Is the White-Red Empire tired of living? Just a tiny speck of land that was nearly wiped out during the Evil Spirit catastrophe, and now they’ve caught their breath?"

"They’ve now received a large number of mysterious weapons as aid from the Lighthouse Empire. The Great Xia Empire has explicitly forbidden research into that kind of thing. If it comes to a real fight, we might not be able to win."

"What about Chu He? We still have a supreme expert like Chu He. What’s there to be afraid of?"

"You think the White-Red Empire doesn’t have anyone? You have to remember, the White-Red Empire has awakened Deities."

"Seriously? Are people actually hyping up the White-Red Empire? Can their awakened Deities even compare to the Trimurti of the White Elephant Empire?

One of the Trimurti, Vishnu, had his arm chopped off by Chu He and his fate is still unknown. What do those so-called Deities of the White-Red Empire even count for?"

"..."

The people of the Great Xia Empire were furious.

On all major platforms, photos were published of the bodies that had been recovered, as well as of the civilians killed on the spot at sea.

Seeing those young faces, seeing that white-haired old man,

many citizens wished they could take up arms and charge straight into the White-Red Empire.

...

「The Great Xia Empire’s Royal Palace.」

"We must go to war! We have to! Those bastards from the White-Red Empire are tired of living! How dare they strike such a vicious blow against us this time!"

"Go to war? How? Look at their high-level mysterious ships and weapons! The Great Xia Empire doesn’t even possess the lowest-grade mysterious tools. What are we supposed to fight them with?"

"We can’t just let the White-Red Empire walk all over us!"

Lu Yinxing had convened a high-level meeting for the Great Xia Empire.

In the conference room, many held cigarettes between their fingers.

Although they were arguing heatedly, every person’s brow was furrowed with an unshakable gloom.

CREAK!

The doors to the conference room were suddenly thrown open from the outside by Chu He.

He then strode in with purpose.

"Chu He, how do you explain this situation?

I know you’ve said that those mysterious weapons are all created from research on Mysterious Power and Evil Spirits,

that they’re extremely unstable, and that they could very well turn against humanity.

But our current situation is dire. Why can’t we train a batch of Death Warriors willing to sacrifice themselves to use these kinds of mysterious weapons?"

one of the ministers stood up and demanded.

"I will handle this matter personally.

Humanity’s ultimate hope still lies in the development of Martial Arts.

If you don’t agree, or if you think the path chosen by the Lighthouse Empire is the correct one, feel free to leave the Great Xia Empire and join them. I won’t stop you."

Chu He said coolly, "I came here today to inform you all that I expect the Great Xia Empire to build more Martial Arts Academies. A single National Road Academy is far from enough."

The minister Chu He had just shut down turned ashen-faced.

But he didn’t dare to stand up and truly confront Chu He. This was a man who killed decisively.

The minister had no doubt that if he truly angered him, Chu He would kill him on the spot.

"The development of Martial Artists consumes an enormous amount of resources. Even for our Great Xia Empire, it’s a considerable strain.

If we continue to build more Martial Arts Academies, I’m afraid the Great Xia Empire won’t be able to support it. We might even be drained dry."

another minister said. He was in charge of resource allocation for the entire Great Xia Empire.

"Better to be drained dry by our own efforts than to have the White-Red Empire, the White Elephant Empire, the Great Jing Empire, and that Lighthouse Empire come knocking on our door and drain us dry themselves,"

Chu He retorted.

The minister opened his mouth, but couldn’t find any words to refute him.

"I agree with you, but how should we handle this matter with the White-Red Empire? Do you need the cooperation of the Great Xia Empire?"

Lu Yinxing asked.

A few other ministers sighed. As expected, Lu Yinxing was once again placing her unconditional trust in Chu He.

This secretly infuriated many of the ministers, but they didn’t dare show it in front of Chu He.

"Right now, the most important thing for the entire Great Xia Empire is to use the time I’ve bought for you,

to develop Martial Arts at all costs, and to cultivate more Martial Arts elites and powerhouses

who can become the true pillars of the Great Xia Empire."

Chu He said, "As for everything else, I alone am enough."

With that, Chu He left the conference room.

"I am now issuing a Queen’s decree.

Mobilize all of the Great Xia Empire’s resources. A Martial Arts Academy must be established in every city.

The most outstanding student from each Martial Arts Academy will be eligible to participate in the final selection for the National Road Academy.

We will begin training them from childhood and allocate greater resources to the National Road Academy.

I do not know how much time Mr. Chu can buy for our Great Xia Empire,

but his display of personal strength has already proven that everything he says is correct. You need not find any more reasons to debate me."

Lu Yinxing’s decision was final.

...

「The White-Red Empire.」

An empire that was, for all intents and purposes, a blight upon the world.

Its friction with the Great Xia Empire was no less than that of the White Elephant Empire.

On a bright and sunny day, an uninvited guest descended upon one of the White-Red Empire’s islands.

Although it was an island, it had already become an extremely prosperous and developed modern metropolis.

All kinds of skyscrapers rose from the ground, and traffic flowed endlessly on the flat, clean roads.

Chu He rose into the air, raised his hand, and scattered a large number of photographs.